Amazing Dave

On January 14, 2016, the Young At Heart group attended the Saddle Up dinner at Spirit of Christ Catholic Community. The hall was decorated with horses, ropes hanging from the ceiling and posters from the Western Stock Show. After a delicious meal the audience was introduced to Amazing Dave.


With a name like Amazing Dave, I wondered who he was and what he would be doing. He was introduced as the Million Dollar Man from the Lodge Casino in Blackhawk and he was also one of the characters at the Lumber Baron Mystery Theater. Now, he was at our dinner to entertain us as a magician.

He is a tall, robust man and he and his wife set up their gear in the middle of the room. The show began with lots of bantering between them and some of the quips were directed at the audience which caused lots of laughter. A fire in his billfold, silver rings, two rabbits, a straight jacket, a balloon, a bird, and a rope were some of the props. It is a puzzle as to how the tricks are done, but that is why he is called a magician!

He incorporated audience members to help him with lots of joking and teasing while he kept the audience laughing and amazed. How he could make a thin white rope go from one whole piece to three pieces of the same size remains a mystery. Before our eyes, he changed a the same sized pieces of rope to short, medium and long lengths. We had seen him cut the rope in three equal sizes and were fascinated as he made the ropes appear in the different sizes. His wife, who helped and did some of the tricks like pulling rabbits out
of small boxes made me feel sorry for the rabbits. The rabbits seemed tired with no energy as they sat on a the small table and did not move.
Maybe the the rabbits were drugged or old but to me they did not act like normal rabbits!  Or maybe they are bored with the being a magic tricks!  She also stuck a long needle into a balloon without popping the balloon.

The finale was putting Amazing Dave into a straight jacket and with a
few maneuvers, and some twists and turns, he was able to get out of it in just over a minute.

The entertainment was fun and interesting and once again I was flabbergasted, as well as the rest of the YAH group, as to how some of those tricks can be done.

How much longer do I have to sit on this perch?

"The magician and the politician have much in common. 

They both have to draw our attention away from what

they are really doing."

Ben Okri